Midlands water situation: June 2026 summary
Updated 14 July 2026
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2026
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Rainfall – In June, all but one catchment recorded normal rainfall totals compared to their June long term average (LTA). The Welsh Mountains catchment recorded below normal rainfall totals for this time of year.
Soil moisture deficit – Soil moisture deficits (SMDs) in June recorded higher than average across all Midlands catchments. This means soils were drier than average. All catchments increased their SMD compared to May.
River flows – All sites recorded below 100% of their LTA. Fifteen sites recorded normal flows, one below normal, 2 notably low and one exceptionally low flows.
Groundwater levels – Groundwater sites in June ranged from exceptionally high groundwater levels to normal groundwater levels.
Reservoir stocks – Reservoir storage levels across the Midlands ranged from 62% to 95% by the end of June.
1. Rainfall
In June, all but one catchment recorded normal rainfall totals compared to their June LTA. These ranged from 65% to 112% of their LTAs. The Welsh Mountains catchment was the exception, recording below normal rainfall totals compared to its LTA at 58%.
Over the last 3 months, most catchments recorded below normal rainfall totals compared to the 3-month LTA. The Derwent, Dove and Upper Trent recorded normal rainfall totals, and the Lower Trent and Welsh Mountains recorded notably low rainfall totals. These are all compared to the 3-month April to June LTAs.
Over the past 6 months, 5 catchments recorded notably high rainfall totals and 6 recorded above normal rainfall totals. The Welsh Mountains recorded normal rainfall totals. These are all compared to their 6-month January to June LTAs.
Over the past year, most catchments recorded above normal rainfall totals. The Lower Trent, Derwent and Dove recorded notably high rainfall totals, and the Avon and Mid Severn recorded normal rainfall totals. These are all compared to July 2025 to June 2026 LTAs.
2. Soil moisture deficit and recharge
In June, SMD increased across all areas in the Midlands since May. Most sites are recording between 101mm and 130mm of SMD. The exception was the Welsh Mountains, which recorded between 71mm and 100mm of SMD. This means that soils generally got drier over June. For the majority of areas, soils were recording a 26mm to 50mm difference in SMD compared to the LTA. The exception was the Dove, which recorded a 51mm to 75mm difference in SMD compared to the LTA. Overall, this shows soils are drier compared to the average for this time of year.
3. River flows
In June, most sites recorded normal flows for this time of year. Llanyblodwel and Bewdley recorded below normal flows, and Butts Bridge and Ebley Mill recorded notably low flows compared to the June LTA. Tenbury recorded exceptionally low flows for the time of year. Overall, the flows in the Midlands ranged from 32% to 96% of their LTA.
Deerhurst gauging station is currently down, and the data has been substituted with flows from the nearby Haw Bridge gauging station. Wedderburn Bridge has been showing unreliable data from September 2024 onwards; therefore, its data has been removed from this report.
4. Groundwater levels
At the end of June, all Midlands groundwater sites recorded normal or higher groundwater levels compared to the LTA. Coxmoor in the north-east recorded exceptionally high groundwater levels at the end of June compared to its LTA. Crossley Hill and Anthonys Cross recorded notably high groundwater levels compared to the LTA. Three sites recorded normal groundwater levels, and a further 3 recorded above normal groundwater levels compared to the LTA.
Out of all reported groundwater sites, the majority of sites had a slight decrease in groundwater levels since May. The only exception was Crossley Hill.
5. Reservoir stocks
Seven reservoirs are at below average storage for this time year. Clywedog reservoir is slightly below average storage, and Vyrnwy and Draycote are above average storage for this time of year.
All reservoirs had storage levels decrease compared to end of May. All reservoirs had storage between from 62% to 95% by the end of June.
6. River Severn operations
The River Severn is regulated to maintain a minimum flow at Bewdley gauging station. This ensures sufficient water flows along the river to support environmental and water supply requirements. Regulation is instigated when flows drop below a threshold. Regulation was instigated when flows dropped below the threshold on 20 June 2026 and as of the end of June there have been 11 days of Severn Regulation so far.
7. River Wye operations
In June 2026, regulation releases were in operation. These occurred from 1 June to 3 June, and then from 18 June, continuing through to the end of June.
8. Water abstraction restrictions
As of 30 June, there are 62 water abstraction licence restrictions in place across the Midlands affecting 236 licences in total.
Author: Midlands Hydrology, midlandshydrology@environment-agency.gov.uk
Contact Details: 03708 506 506
Disclaimer: All data are provisional and may be subject to revision. The views expressed in this document are not necessarily those of the Environment Agency. Its officers, servants or agents accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from the interpretation or use of the information, or reliance upon views contained in this report.